Social Media Fact Sheet
Today YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms. Explore the demographic patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Today YouTube and Facebook are the most-widely used online platforms. Explore the demographic patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.
YouTube is the most popular online platform among teens, with roughly nine-in-ten saying they use the site. And more than half of teens report using TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.
Today, nearly all U.S. teens (96%) say they use the internet every day. And the share of teens who report being online “almost constantly” has roughly doubled since 2014-2015 (24% vs. 46%).
A majority of U.S. parents are keeping a watchful eye on what their teens do on social media; some are also imposing screen time restrictions.
Most U.S. adults today say they use the internet (95%), have a smartphone (90%) or subscribe to high-speed internet at home (80%). About four-in-ten report being online almost constantly.
More than half of U.S. teens say it would be difficult for them to give up social media. 36% say they spend too much time on social media.
62% of U.S. adults under 30 say they use TikTok, compared with 39% of those ages 30 to 49, 24% of those 50 to 64, and 10% of those 65 and older.
YouTube and Facebook are by far the most used online platforms among U.S. adults. But TikTok’s user base has grown significantly in recent years: 33% of U.S. adults now say they use it, up from 21% in 2021.
Just 14% of all U.S. adults say they have used ChatGPT for entertainment, to learn something new, or for their work.
Majorities of teens credit social media with strengthening their friendships and providing support while also noting the emotionally charged side of these platforms.
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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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